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5 (New York City Subway service)

For the former BMT service, see 5 (BMT).

The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored green on station signs, the New York City Subway map and on most IRT rolling stock equipment since it uses the Lexington Avenue Line through Manhattan.

During rush hours 5 trains operate between Eastchester–Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue, the Bronx and Brooklyn College–Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn and operates express in the Bronx (in the peak direction), Manhattan and Brooklyn, with limited rush hour service to Crown Heights–Utica Avenue or New Lots Avenue due to space limitations along the Nostrand Avenue segment south of Franklin Avenue.

During middays, evenings and weekdays, 5 trains operate between Eastchester–Dyre Avenue and Bowling Green, with express service in Manhattan and local service in the Bronx. During late nights, 5 trains provide local shuttle service between Eastchester–Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street, the Bronx, where the 2 train provides through service to the South Bronx and Manhattan.

The 5 fleet consists entirely of R142s.

The following lines are used by the 5 service:

Dyre Avenue Shuttle

The East 180th Street-Dyre Avenue Shuttle or Dyre Avenue Shuttle was established as a new subway service and full-time shuttle in 1941 between the former East 180th Street station of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway and Dyre Avenue, which was the last station but one of the NYW&B within New York City. Passengers had to make a walking transfer between the Dyre Avenue Line and the IRT White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street as the two lines did not share a common station and there was no track connection between the lines.

In 1957 a flyover connection opened between the East 180th Street station of the White Plains Road Line and the Dyre Avenue Line, enabling through service by trains of the 2 from Manhattan to Dyre Avenue. At the same time, the former NYW&B station was closed and off-hours Dyre Avenue Shuttles rerouted to the White Plains Road Line station. These shuttles were initially labeled 2 like the full-time service but were later signed 9, a number used for IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line skip-stop service.

The off-hours Dyre Avenue shuttle still operates, but trains on the line are signed 5, the same as the through service that now serves the line.

Service History

The section from East 180th Street to Dyre Avenue was once the mainline of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, a standard gauge electric commuter railroad built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Upon its closure in 1937, the entire property was put up for sale.

In 1940, the City of New York purchased the section and began integrating the line into the system. The railroad north of the city line to White Plains and Port Chester was quickly dismantled. The section below East 180th Street to Greens Farm Junction was once used to interchange with the New Haven (and later Penn Central and Conrail) to bring subway cars and other equipment on and off the system. This section has since been removed, isolating this part of the subway from interchange.

Beginning 1934, trains normally ran from Wakefield-241st Street or East 180th Street to Atlantic Avenue. During rush hours, they were extended to Utica Avenue.

From 1938 to 1950, weekend trains ran to Utica Avenue. Over the years, they were extended to New Lots Avenue every once in a while.

Beginning May 3, 1957, limited rush hour trains ran to Flatbush Avenue. This was discontinued on April 8, 1960.

From May 24, 1976 to 1980, midday trains terminated at Bowling Green.

Beginning July 10, 1983, all rush hour service ran to Flatbush Avenue, with limited service to/from Utica or New Lots Avenue.

On January 18, 1988, midday trains permanently terminated at Bowling Green.

In 1995, rush hour service to 241st Street was cut back to Nereid Avenue.

Stations

Note: New York City Transit eliminated the diamond 5 service from the official map in 2005, but there are still two distinct service patterns in the Bronx. In the table below, the first column (headed by a 5 inside a circle) documents the non-rush hour pattern, and the second column (headed by a 5 inside a diamond) documents the rush hour pattern.

* Borough Hall is accessible in the northbound direction only.

References

• Line By Line History

External links

• MTA NYC Transit - 5 Lexington Avenue Express (normal circle service)
• MTA NYC Transit - 5 Eastern Parkway/Lexington Avenue/Bronx Thru Express (rush-hour diamond service)
• MTA NYC Transit - 5 schedule PDF (287 KB)
• New York, Westchester & Boston Railway history